Best greenest hay to feed?

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Joey&Gizmo

Joey&Gizmo

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After reading tattyruncy story about her one piggy suffering an awful lice problem ive started to worry about the hay i use. I use to buy the little friend meadow hay and p@h timothy hay but about a month ago i bought a small bale of good quality hay from a farm and my boys seem to love it. I store the hay outside and it is kept dry with a waterproof covering, will this kill the lice if there is any as the temperatures are pretty low now?
But after reading the story i wondered if hay is bad for them due to the lice issues? What hay does everyone use and which one is best that does not have a link with lice issues?
I have recently bought a small pack of oxbow orchard grass and was thinking of trying readigrass.
What is everyone's views as i would hate my pigs to develop the same problems.
 
I'm looking for a good supplier where I can buy in bulk at the moment so I'm very interested to see the replies to this thread!
 
We buy bales of hay off a friend who keeps horses; horse owners are very fussy about the quality of the hay they purchase. We haven't had any problems and it's a gazillion times cheaper than buying it in little bags. Bales of meadow hay will also contain the wild plants guinea-pigs would naturally eat in the wild.

I can't comment on why her guinea-pigs got lice; I can only presume that the grass was infected when it was cut. I'm not concerned enough to change though.
 
I must say i worry so much about my piggys and had a worry last weekend when Gizmo seemed to have a stuffy nose but he has always been that way since i had him a year ago so i dont know if its an allergy as he has no other signs of a URI, but I'm still worrying and think i will get a vets appointment next week just to be safe. Its not as bad as last weekend and he was just changed when the stuffy nose appeared which may indicate a allergy, I'm just a BIG worry!

I hope i get some good information for us to share. :)
 
My pigs love herby harvest from woodlands. they go bannas when I get it out!
its very good quality and its got natural stuff in it; no lice!
hope it helps
Jen
x
 
Personally I don't believe pigs should be fed no hay, even though many rodentologists advise feeding only dried grass alternatives to protect the pigs from parasitic infestations. Some pigs do fine without hay but in my view, the longer strands of a high quality hay do a lot for a pig, in terms of dental and digestive benefits as well as mental stimulation.

I think the problem with UK hays is the climate it is grown and harvested in. Rain, anyone? rolleyes The damp, dark bales of hay is a lovely home for hay mites, lice and such...

My 12 are fed on Oxbow hays - usually Orchard Grass but recently Western Timothy hay.
I had been feeding what I thought was good quality meadow hay, really green, grown in the UK and sold in a large bag at a local pet store. One of my sows became infested with lice; as an experiment I fed only Oxbow hay for a while and found that the problems cleared up. I have been feeding Oxbow hay exclusively for 7 months now and noticed a big difference in the softness and quality of their coats, as well as them generally being a bit less "dirty" each bathtime.

It is surprising how the cost adds up when you buy bags of hay. Bales are more economical and without doubt the cheapest option; the quality may be questionable in some cases. However most people buy packaged hay, which can seem quite cheap individually but when you're buying enough to feed 2, 3, 4 or more pigs for the month it does get quite pricey.

One of the biggest benefits of feeding the Oxbow hays is that you can buy excellent quality hay - better than you'll ever find of UK grown hays - in bulk. 11kg costs £45, while 22kg costs £60. Given that 22kg lasts my 12 pigs two months (they eat a LOT of hay!), you can imagine how long it would last those with fewer pigs, the savings you would make - and the hay does store very well in the box it comes in.

I know I sound like a walking advert for Oxbow hays, I don't mean to, but I can't highlight the benefits enough! True, it will be too expensive for some people, but that's the only downside I have heard of. It's quality checked before it's put up for sale in most places, so if the quality is low it wouldn't be available (unlike the bags of yellow hay that frequent so many stores).
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Personally I don't believe pigs should be fed no hay, even though many rodentologists advise feeding only dried grass alternatives to protect the pigs from parasitic infestations. Some pigs do fine without hay but in my view, the longer strands of a high quality hay do a lot for a pig, in terms of dental and digestive benefits as well as mental stimulation.

I think the problem with UK hays is the climate it is grown and harvested in. Rain, anyone? rolleyes The damp, dark bales of hay is a lovely home for hay mites, lice and such...

My 12 are fed on Oxbow hays - usually Orchard Grass but recently Western Timothy hay.
I had been feeding what I thought was good quality meadow hay, really green, grown in the UK and sold in a large bag at a local pet store. One of my sows became infested with lice; as an experiment I fed only Oxbow hay for a while and found that the problems cleared up. I have been feeding Oxbow hay exclusively for 7 months now and noticed a big difference in the softness and quality of their coats, as well as them generally being a bit less "dirty" each bathtime.

It is surprising how the cost adds up when you buy bags of hay. Bales are more economical and without doubt the cheapest option; the quality may be questionable in some cases. However most people buy packaged hay, which can seem quite cheap individually but when you're buying enough to feed 2, 3, 4 or more pigs for the month it does get quite pricey.

One of the biggest benefits of feeding the Oxbow hays is that you can buy excellent quality hay - better than you'll ever find of UK grown hays - in bulk. 11kg costs £45, while 22kg costs £60. Given that 22kg lasts my 12 pigs two months (they eat a LOT of hay!), you can imagine how long it would last those with fewer pigs, the savings you would make - and the hay does store very well in the box it comes in.

I know I sound like a walking advert for Oxbow hays, I don't mean to, but I can't highlight the benefits enough! True, it will be too expensive for some people, but that's the only downside I have heard of. It's quality checked before it's put up for sale in most places, so if the quality is low it wouldn't be available (unlike the bags of yellow hay that frequent so many stores).
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Thank you for your reply, so personally you would recommend oxbow? I did think it was pricey but as you say it is good quality and would definitely last me ages as i only have two piggys!xx>>>
What about a mixture of oxbow and readigrass? I was thinking of the price really and would try a medium size pack of oxbow and mix it with the readigrass to see how long it would last me. So the orchard grass or timothy oxbow are both ok?
 
Yep, a mixture of Oxbow and readigrass is also good. :)

Timothy and Orchard Grass are both grass hays, so good for piggies of any age. They are the only two hays sold in 11kg and 22kg sizes, none of the others go above 1kg or 5kg.

An 11kg box of Oxbow hay and a bale of Readigrass (15kg) would cost you around £60 but last two pigs a good 4 to 6 months at least!
 
This is only my experience and opinion, but I haven't had any problems with bales of hay, only the pet shop hay. All of my squeakers have really nice coats and we check them regularly for any nasties.

I've been reading Peter Gurney's link on skin problems and lice are so easy to treat with Neem oil (when caught early enough), that for me I'm not concerned about mine contracting them. The Neem oil cleared up the mites; even on our very scabby boy we 'rescued' from a pet shop.
 
I'm have sparked a bit of a debate :red but debate is good as people get to discuss their own experiences :) Laura, your post was excellent, I can't add much to what you have said :) I find it a bit odd that my Rodentologist chooses only to use readigrass, she tells me Vedra does not allow hay anywhere near her piggies - which must tell us all something - I believe Vedra advised me about the hay to educate and inform me, I have chosen to take her advice.
I really did not know just what some hay can do to a piggies health with regard to parasites and now I know Oxbow is safe, I will buy nothing else.
To keep the waste down, I give the girls a toilet roll :)) each stuffed with hay and top it up throughout the day as I notice it emptying. The readigrass is in bowls for them to eat. I know the oxbow bought in bulk will work out alot cheaper than the burgess herbage I was buying :)
 
My issue with buying in hay from other countries is the impact it has on the planet with regard to "food miles" which is why i refuse to buy oxbow. My girls get a mixture of "just grass" which is like readigrass and now switching them over the burgess herbage from p@h timothy hay. I do not buy foods that can be grown in britain for myself from other countries and try and buy locally and in season.
 
I have ready grass but my lots (all of them) aren't fussed on it.

I am a hay addict and i think i have tried almost every hay on the market. I got the 2 chippenham pigs and they came to me with lice and one had mites.

However since coming to me they haven't had anything and I have fed them a bit of everything. Unfortunately those two decided they preferred Burns Oat hay which seems to have disappeared (anyone else having probs getting it?)

I have just got the 22kg of Oxbow as I know ALL of them eat it and I have been concerned about the lice / mites thing. But I am going to finish all the other stuff I have too.

Also surely the dust free hay company stuff would be good too as it goes through so much purifying? It's not very green though is it?

I agree with Laura about the dental thing - isn't hay important for that?

Long strand stuff?

OH and I also wanted to add that Burgess Herbage has been a waste of money for me as it's such short strands it just falls out of the rack into the litter and I chuck so much away.
 
I would like to say thank you to everyone that has replied as its good to have lots of opinions as after all everyone is different and its good to share your experiences, well that's what i think at least!

As i have stored my hay outside would that lower the chance of lice if there was any? As i would have thought that the low temperatures would have killed them, also can you see lice? I'm assuming you can just like human lice but i would like a definite answer if anyone has had experince of coming across lice.

Lovelygirl i understand your concern for the 'food miles' and i too do prefer to buy locally and give something back to my community with the current recession and all. However i would buy oxbow products if that meant my piggys benefited from it and i suppose i will just have to try my boys on the oxbow and readigrass to see for myself. If they don't like it there is no point in me getting it and i will stick with the bales and check my two regulary for lice.

Lisajazz where do you get you hay from as i know we live in the same area. What about the readigrass do you know if any suppliers near me?

Ive also done a bit of maths and worked out it would be cheaper for me to buy the oxbow in bulk and if that means good quality and benefits for the pigs I'm happy to do it. But first i must try them on a small pack and see what they think. :)

Still open for my opinions. :p
 
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I buy my hay, by the bale, from my local farm shop. It's lovely hay and the pigs all enjoy it, both for eating and hiding under.

From what I have heard, Vedra doesn't like hay because she is allergic to it!

Hay and grasses make up the biggest part of my piggies diet, with veggies second and dry food only given in very small amounts.
 
Vedra uses Oxbow hay on occasion; I believe it's sawdust she is severely allergic to. I suspect given how many hay samples she's examined under the microscope she's seen some awful stuff in her time, which would have affected her decision about the use of hay.

J&G -lice are visible, they look like tiny grains of rice and can be black, white or brown in colour. You can sometimes see them moving, other times they are static, clinging onto the hair shafts.
 
I have 2 pigs that came here with lice. You can see them in the dark fur on your pigs. They are small white wiggly dots. You can mistake them for dust if not careful.

Look through your guineas fur, if you find white dots hold still and see if they move and burrow into the fur again.
 
Thank you Laura. Do you think as i store my hay outside if there were any lice they would have died as the weather is cold or would they still survive by burrowing deep in the hay? Sorry for all the questions.
 
As far as I know they can survive on hay for a while, even packaged hay.
 
I forgot to ask Laura how big is the box that the oxbow hay comes in? As i would have to store it indoors because of the price i wouldnt want any to go to waste. :p
 
I can't remember the exact dimensions as I'm currently out of all Oxbow hays (surviving on Alfalfa King until tomorrows delivery!) but I just did a quick search and found the dimensions on the SPH website.

Both the Timothy and Orchard Grass are described as follows:

50lb hay is packed in a strong plastic bag inside a robust cardboard box, which measures (approx ) 47 x 62 x 61cm (18.5 x 24.5 x 24" )
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When I bought from The Hay Experts, the Orchard Grass came in a tall skinny box, while the Timothy came in the box size mentioned above.
 
They're not particularly inclined either way, although I think they have emptied the box of Timothy hay quicker than they did the Orchard Grass, they seem to eat a little more of the Timothy. The Timothy is a lot stalkier than the Orchard Grass, which is quite soft although still with the nice long strands.

If I had to pick a favourite myself it would be the Orchard Grass...but then it's not about me. :))
 
Lisajazz said:
Also surely the dust free hay company stuff would be good too as it goes through so much purifying? It's not very green though is it.
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Lisa have your tried the American timothy hay from the dust free hay range? I was looking at the site earlier and it looks similar to the oxbow stuff.
 
I also looked at Dust Free Hay as I heard a lot of good things about it. The only problem I found is the cost, when I added it up it turned out very expensive.
 
It's actually alot cheaper than Oxbow i think.

It's £40 for 20kg so cheaper than Oxbow.

I bought it and found my lot weren't fussed on it although after persevering with it they will eat it now. It's not green though - it's yellow / brown hay.
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
Lisa have your tried the American timothy hay from the dust free hay range? I was looking at the site earlier and it looks similar to the oxbow stuff.
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I haven't tried the timothy stuff, the stalky stuff I got was supposed to have timothy mixed in. It's not green though and I'm no expert so I couldn't tell. I think their timothy is quite alot but in bulk again not so bad.

Wow a hay I didn't try! I will have to put that right one day :(|):(|):(|).

My husband found a piece of hay in his coffee today. Not good is it?
 
Lisajazz said:
I haven't tried the timothy stuff, the stalky stuff I got was supposed to have timothy mixed in. It's not green though and I'm no expert so I couldn't tell. I think their timothy is quite alot but in bulk again not so bad.

Wow a hay I didn't try! I will have to put that right one day :(|):(|):(|).

My husband found a piece of hay in his coffee today. Not good is it?
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It look so green on the photos thought it looked the same as the oxbow, here have a look see what you think. Its half way down called 'American Timothy'.

http://www.dustfreehay.co.uk/hay.html
 
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